ACTA BIOLOGICA CRACOVIENSIA Series Botanica 47/2: 137-144, 2005

Individual Differentiation of Abies alba Mill. Population From the Tisovik Reserve. Part I. Variability Expressed in Morphology and Anatomy of Needles 

Ewa M. Pawlaczyk1*, Jacek Grzebyta2, Maria A. Bobowicz1**,
and Adolf F. Korczyk3***

1Department of Genetics, Adam Mickiewicz University, 
ul. Międzychodzka 5, 60-371 Poznań, Poland
2Department of Genetics, University of Warmia and Mazury, 
ul. Plac Łódzki 3, 10-967 Olsztyn, Poland
3 Natural Forest Department, Forest Research Institute, 
Park Dyrekcyjny 6, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland

*e-mail: ewapaw@amu.edu.pl
** mabwa@amu.edu.pl
***e-mail: akorczyk@las.ibl.bialowieza.pl

Received May 2, 2005; revision accepted July 30, 2005

One-year-old needles from 20 silver fir trees in the Tisovik Reserve (Belarus) were characterized in respect to 12 morphological and anatomical traits, and the data were analyzed statistically to determine variability between trees. Individuals within the population generally were homogenous for those traits. Needle length was the most variable trait within the studied population. The width/height ratio of the hypodermic cell exerted the weakest differentiating effect between trees. The results that the Tisovik Reserve population is weakly differentiated. 

Key words: European silver fir, variability, needle, multivariate statistical analysis.